WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Jewish community of Greater Hartford is mourning alongside a West Hartford family. Elan Ganeles, 27, who grew up in West Hartford, was gunned down Monday evening in the latest escalation of violence in the West Bank.
“This young life cut way too short from senseless violence has our community railing,” said West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor on Tuesday. “Our job now is to support the family in every way we can to come together as a community and support each other and to pray that violence stops and young lives are not lost.”
The Ganeles family is in Israel where Elan will be laid to rest Wednesday in the Israeli city of Raanana. The family will then return to Young Israel of West Hartford to sit shiva, mourning together for seven days.
As Connecticut dug out from the first major snowfall of the season, neighbors in West Hartford plowed the family’s driveway Tuesday while they are in Israel mourning their son.
Rabbi Jonathan Berger of the Solomon Schechter Day School knows the Ganeles family.
“They did have a choice about where to bury their son and they chose to bury him in Israel and I can imagine it’s because of his and their deep connection to Israel,” Berger said.
Elan was an honor student at what’s now the New England Jewish Academy in West Hartford. The son of local doctors, he was an Ivy League graduate of Columbia University.
“Incredibly bright didn’t follow maybe a traditional path of going right away to school. He wanted to serve,” said Cantor.
Elan deferred college and joined the U.S. military to serve in Israel and later became a member of the Israel Defense Forces, serving alongside Mayor Shari Cantor’s niece.
“They serve and support behind the lines and that’s what Elan did as well,” she said.
Israeli authorities said Tuesday that Elan was shot by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the occupied West Bank. He held both U.S. and Israeli citizenship. His death was the latest in a bloody string of violent attacks in the region. Friends said he was in the region to attend a wedding and was driving on a highway near the Dead Sea when he was shot. The attackers remained at large Tuesday.
The army said the attackers opened fire at an Israeli car near the Palestinian city of Jericho, hitting Ganeles. The assailants, traveling in one vehicle, then drove further and fired again, the army said. The attackers set their own vehicle afire and fled, setting off a manhunt.
Connecticut leaders reacted to news of his death Tuesday.
Governor Ned Lamont tweeted, "These attacks are devastating and shocking. My condolences go out to his family and loved ones."
Congressman John Larson, whose district includes West Hartford, said, "My heart and prayers go out to Elan’s family and friends as they mourn this tragedy. Elan was an accomplished young man and was active growing up in our West Hartford community. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.”
Rabbi Berger said now is not the time to focus on the ongoing conflict. Now is the time to mourn with the family.
“At this time, most of all, our hearts are with the Ganeles family and however they lead us we will follow in supporting them and carrying on his memory and hopefully building a legacy of peace and strength in the future from him,” Berger said.
To make a donation in memory of Ganeles to the Young Israel Chesed Fund, which will support his family during this time, click here.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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